Airship turn and transfer table



Feh2751192$ mmm H. A. F. ABT

AIRSHIPTURN AND TRANSFER TABLE Filed June 2, 1922 3 sheets-sheet 1 Feb. 2?, 11.923!

H. A. F. ABT

AIRSHIP TURN AND TRANSFER TABLE "Filed June 2, 1922 KA EEA W 5 sheets-sheet 2 Feb. 27. 1923. H. A. F. ABT

AIR-SHIP TURN AND TRANSFER TABLE 5 sheets-sheet 5 Filed June 2 MMoqeo oon Patented Feb. 27,

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HUGQ'A. F. ART, 01 CHICAGO, ILLINUIS.

MESJEHEP TURN AND TESTER TILE.

Application filed June 2, 1922 Serial No. 565,452.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that T, HUGO A. it. Am, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Airship Turns and T ransfer Tables, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means by which airships, especially dirigibles, may be brought into and removed from their hangars. It will be understood that airshi s of the dirigible type are usually quite ong, some of them being upwards of 600 ft. Compared to their size. these structures are quite weak, and it is necessary to exercise great care in bringing them into and out of the hangars or sheds in which they are to be stored. The wind ressure against a body of such size is very arge and in view of the relative frailty of the structure a relatively slight impact of the vessel against the sides of the shed during ingress or egress will frequently damage the envelope, 1 if not wreck it. A sudden shift of wind when the vessel is partly within and partly without its shed is especially to be guarded against, and it has been common practice heretofore to use as aids tracks leading to the shed from various directions, the idea being that the vessel can first be anchored by cables and trolleys to the tracks most nearly in alignment with the direction in which the wind is blowing. The vessel can then be drawn lengthwise into the waiting structure. It is common practice to make the shed rotatable in a horizontal plane after the manner of a turn table so that it may be brought into alinement with the particular track to which the vessel is anchored. The shed is, in the main, tubular to correspond approximately with the shape of the vessel and it may constitute the final storage structure or it may be used in connection with a set of stationarynsheds radiating from the center of the turn table after the manner of the stalls of a locomotive round house. In either event, that is, whether the rotatable shed is itself used for storage or is used in connection with stationary hangars, the ex pense of the rotatable shed and associated tracl rs is very great, commonly running over a million dollars. Theobject of my invention is to reduce this expense without endangering the vessels as the are brought into and out oi their sheds. ne reason for the great expense of the ordinary installa-- tion is the supplemental trackage, but a still greater item is the rotatable shed and. its mounting. The sheds are sometimes as much as 900 ft. in length and as the interior must have an unobstructedspace of at least the full size of the vessel, the necessary strength against wind pressure, etc, is obtained only at the expense of a very strong and heavy shell. Not only is the shed itself heavy and expensive, but a turn table adequate to carry such weight and safely hold the shed against wind pressure must also be of great and heavy proportions. One of my'objects is to provide a storage system in which the rotatable member is greatly reduced in weight and consequent cost. Briefly, T dispense with the leading-in trackage radiating from the center of the rotatable member and so construct the rotatable member that it ismuch lighter than before and the vessel may be introduced into it directly without fear of damage. The rotatable member is then used in connection with one or more stationary sheds. In my system, furthermore, the superstructure of the rotatable member is merely a shield, not a completely closed building, and hence is much lighter and contains less material than would a closed building of the requisite size. It is true that according to my system of housing a stationary as well as a rotatable member will commonly be used whereas in previous installations the rotatable member may itself constitute the shed in which the vessel is permanently kept. But even so, the cost of my installation (even for a single vessel) is so reduced, owing to the fact that the leading-in trackage is abolished, and the rotatable member greatly reduced in weight, that a great saving will be efiected even though storage is required for but a single vessel and a stationary shed must-be built in addition to the rotatable member. In those cases where storage is required for a plurality of vessels, the saving is still greater in proportion.- Even in the case of an installation having a capacity for but a single vessel the saving may easily run into several hundred thousand dollars.

l accomplish my objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a plan view or a Emulti-vessel storage plant.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the rotatable member with a vessel in place and a portion of one of the stationary sheds shown in conjunction.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan section of one type of door and its mounting used at one end of the rotatable shield or temporary shelter. The plane of section is indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 4.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical section of the door construction of the rotatable shield, the plane of section being indicated by the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an elevation of the door con struction and its mountings.

Figure 6 is a sectional elevation of the rotatable shield taken on the line 66 of Figure 2.

Like numerals denote like parts throughout the several views.

One or more sheds or hangars 1, 2, 3 (in the present case 3) are arranged radially with respect to the axis of rotation of the rotatable member presently to be described. These sheds are stationary and of ordinary construction. They are provided. with I beams 5 running lengthwise ofthe shed and forming rails for the trolleys 6 which are best shown in Figure 6. These sheds are shown as being open at the receiving'end, but in practice a door or closure of some kind may be provided for protecting the contents from the weather. The trolleys are adapted to engage the under side of the tracks to thereby resist tension upward. They form travelling anchors for the guy ropes 8 which hold the airship in place when in storage and while being brought into or out of the shed.

' The rotatable member of the system includes a table 12'which consists of a horizontally arranged, built-up structure having a circular outline and constructed of plates, beams and braces, which may be assembled according to a variety of designs. It has, in the design illustrated, longitudinal plates 14, usually somewhat longer than the vessel, and these are arranged alongside of I beams 16 which lead the trolleys to the stationary tracks 5/ The construction of the table itself is immaterial, the essential characteristic. being that it is rotatable about a vertical axis and forms a support for the Wind shield 18, which forms the temporary shelter for the airship. The de-' tailed design of this shield is immaterial for it also is built up. of plates, beams and braces. The essential characteristic is that it' is substantially airtight, in the present height slightly greater than the top of'thevemel when the latter is anchored as illustrated in Figures 4 and 6. This shield bends inward to follow approximately the contour of the upper uadrant of the vessel, although in practice it will usually stop short of the vertical median plane.

' The details of construction of the elements which support the turn table are immaterial. In the present case circular tracks 22 are provided for supporting trucks 24. These trucks help support the structure and are provided with guide rollers 26 which rotate in a horizontal plane and engage a track 28 to resist side thrust and keep the turn table always truly centered. At the center of the turn table is a roller bearing consisting of upper and lower .races 30 and 32 with rollers 34 between, as best shown in Figure 2. Intermediate or supplemental trucks 36 and concentric tracks 38 may be provided as best shown in Figure 2. The means for rotatably supporting the turn table may be greatly varied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

At one end of the shield 18 a door is provided for protecting the vessel from the effects of the wind blowing lengthwise of the shield. The design and construction of this door and its mountings may be varied, but in the present case I. have shown a housing 40 provided with tracks 42 facing upward and downward to cooperate with guide rollers 44. Laterally facing tracks 46 are also provided and these co-operatewith guide rollers 48 best shown in Figure 3. Door plates 49 are carried and guided by said rollers and these form the outer surface of the door. The door sections also include inner plates 50 which interfit at the edges, that is, are articulately joined together in any suitable manner.- The tracks for guiding the rollers which support'the door extend across one end of the shield and partly along one side thereof, and the result of the entire construction is that the door operates. in general after the manner of a roller curtain or the top of a rolltop desk. The door may be regarded as a sectionalized roller curtain which moves horizontally and in which. the elements articulate On vertical axes.

In operation, when the operators desire to make a landing they bring the vessel down' tothe ground where the attendants immediately grasp the lower ends of the guy ropes. Usually the door of the shield will be in open position at this time with the result that the shield will be open at the side and 'at-both ends. This makes it a comparatively simple matter for the attendants. to bring the vessel into position alongside of the shield. The guy ropes are thereupon attached to the trolleys 6 which causes the vessel to be firmly anchoredand consequently under full control. The door of the shield will thereupon be closed, that is, brought to a. position to close the end-of the shield and when this has been accomplished the shield may be rotated into line with the particular shed l, 2 or 3 into which it is desired to place the vessel. As the shield and the shed meet approximately end to end the wind cannot exert suflicicnt influence to materally disturb the vessel and the trolleys will run onto the stationary tracks 5 without dii'ficulty. In other words, the vessel will be protected against wind action while it is being introduced into the stationary shed. I

To remove the vessel from the stationary shed the operation will, of course, be re versed. The rotatable shield will be brought into alinement with the shed in which the vessel is stored and after the transfer from the stationary to the rotatable structure has been accomplished the door of the latter may be opened and the rotatable structure rotated to such angular position with respect to the Wind as may be best calculated to permit the removal of the vessel.

A shield like mine having a protection be made to protect the vessel from a wind blowing in any direction. The turn table may always be so placed that the wind will strike the side and the closed end thus leaving the vessel in. the lee of the two upstanding members. After the vessel has been brought into the shield and anchored the shield may always be rotated into alinement with the shed into which the vessel is to be placed, and yet occupy such position that the side at least of the shield will be to windward. Vhile it is not always possible with a single door windshield to shield the vessel absolutely completely both from the side and end in those cases where the vessel mustenter a specified shed and the vessel is of the full length of the windshield, this fact is immaterial for this condition obtains only when the wind is in a particular quarter and even then the wind will gain access only at one end and quarteringly. But in practice this is avoided by employing Windshields which are of a length somewhat in excess of the length of the vessel, as illustrated.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by. Letters Patent is:

1. A temporary shelter for airships, rotatable in a horizontal plane and open at the side for permitting ingress and egress sideways.

2. Means to assist in introducing and withdrawing airships from their hangars consisting of a turn table surmounted by an open-sided windshield approximately equal in length and height to the length and height of the airship.

3. A temporary shelter for airships having an upstanding open-sided shield, curved upward and inward, and a turn table for supporting the shield and enabling it to be brought into advantageous position relatively to the wind.

4. A. temporary shelter for airships hav ing an upstanding, open-sided shield, curved upward and inward, a turn table for sup-- porting the shield and enabling it to be brought into advantageous position relatively to the wind, and a door for opening and closing one end of the shield.

5. A storage system for airships comprising a stationary shed adapted to be completely closed, a turntable whose center is in alinement with the median line of the shed, tracks on the turntable for guiding the airship from the turntable into the shed. and a windshield mounted on the turntable and iipen along one side.

6. storage system for airships com prising a stationary shed adapted to be completely closed, a turntable whose center isin alinement with the median line of the shed,'tracks on the turntable ilor'guiding the airship from the turntable into the shed, a windshield mounted on the turntable and open along one side, and a door at one end of the windshield, which may be opened and closed, the door having an area at least as great as the cross sectional area of the airship to be handled.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto sub- 100 HUGO A. 1*. ABT. 

